First Look: Rory Kinnear, Natalia Osipova in James Graham’s ‘The Standard of Living’

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The Standard of Living will run for a strict 12 week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

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You can now get a first look at photos of the world premiere of The Standard of Living , a new play written by three-time Olivier Award winner James Graham , and directed by four-time Tony Award and three-time Olivier-award winner Nicholas Hytner .

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Olivier Award winner Rory Kinnear  stars as John Maynard Keynes, the radical economist and member of the influential Bloomsbury Group who became the singular driving force behind arts funding in Britain and built a new and fairer financial model, that ultimately helped reshape the Western World in the aftermath of the First World War. Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova makes her West End debut as the celebrated ballet dancer Lydia Lopokova , a soloist with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes who was considered the embodiment of the new era of modernist ballet.

Joining Kinnear and Osipova is Thomas Flynn as Keynes' friend and lover Duncan Grant; Laurie Kynaston as Keynes' great economic rival Friedrich Hayek; Alex Blake as Clive Bell; Pip Carter as writer and critic Lytton Strachey; Agatha Enecio as Bloomsbury group artist Dora Carrington; Naomi Frederick as one of the 20th century's leading writers, Virginia Woolf ; Claire Price as designer and Woolf's sister, Vanessa Bell ; and George Taylor as economist and father of the Welfare State, William Beveridge.

This bold piece of original new writing receives its World Premiere in London's West End featuring set design by Bob Crowley and Costume Design by Jenny Beavan . The Movement Director is James Cousins , the Composer is Frank Moon and the Ballet Consultant is Edward Watson . The Lighting Designer is Bruno Poet , the Sound Designer is Carolyn Downing , the Projection Designer is Luke Halls , the Casting Director is Robert Sterne CDG, Props Supervisor is Lily Mollgaard , Costume Supervisor is Poppy Halls, the Vocal Coach is Jeanette Nelson and the Assistant Director is Anastasia Bunce.

Inspired by Keynes' passion for art and access to art for all, the producers have released "Keynes Tickets" which offer £25 tickets in the stalls and dress circle for people under 30. This is in addition to the thousands of £25 tickets that have been made available throughout the run to ensure that new writing is available to the widest possible audience.

The Standard of Living will run for a strict 12 week engagement at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Previews began this week on 21 September and opening night is on Tuesday 29 September.

Can you put a price on happiness, beauty and love? Husband to ballerina Lydia Lopokova . Lover to Duncan Grant. Friend to Virginia Woolf . Keynes moves between the corridors of power in Whitehall and the intoxicating freedom of a radical circle of artists, writers and lovers - all determined to live differently.

But as markets crash, old systems crumble and Britain teeters on the edge of chaos, one question begins to consume him: What is a good life? Can art, love and human connection reshape the future before it's too late? Or is the world too addicted to wealth and power to change? Alive with music, dance, desire and debate, The Standard of Living is a thrilling, funny and deeply moving portrait of a man who dared to imagine something better.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

Rory Kinnear

Natalia Osipova

Natalia Osipova

Thomas Flynn

Laurie Kynaston

Rory Kinnear , Thomas Flynn and Natalia Osipova

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Photos-Rory-Kinnear-Natalia-Osipova-and-More-in-THE-STANDARD-OF-LIVING-20260925)._